Bribe
by hikanon
Summary: He needed help in Physics. She needed help in History and Math. What if he asked her for help and offered to help her in her studies? AU SasuSaku
1. Chp 1: History

**Bribe**

_He needed help in Physics. She needed help in History and Math. What if he asked her for help and offered to help her in her studies? SasuSaku_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._

Chapter 1: History

"_Tap… Tap… Tap…"_

The noise made by his biro pen was loud enough for him to hear. He smirked as he looked at his History teacher who was writing on the blackboard. It was either the teacher was deaf or he simply could not bother about the tapping noise.

"_Tap… Tap… Tap…"_

The tapping was louder now. A few of his classmates glanced at him with slight annoyance, signaling him to stop but he took no notice of them. The teacher seemed to still be oblivious to the annoying sound or his distracted students. The raven haired teen sighed; classes sure were boring in the morning…

"_Tap… Tap… Tap…"_

"Shut. Up." A feminine voice hissed suddenly. Uchiha Sasuke had now stopped tapping his pen as he looked up to face the owner of the voice.

Sitting diagonally in front to his right was Haruno Sakura, the smartest girl in his class who would usually lose to him during exam periods. She was also the only owner of a shock of bubblegum pink shoulder-length hair which she claimed that it was her natural hair color. Her emerald eyes glared into his onyx ones in annoyance but the young Uchiha merely stared back with indifference. After a moment, Sakura looked away to face the front once again, only to find the History teacher standing in front of her desk with his usual face mask and orange book in his hand.

"Haruno-san, I would like to see you after class later. We shall discuss about your lack of attention in my class and maybe some extra homework might be good, no?"

Sasuke smirked as the whole class started to snigger at the pink-haired school girl. As the class had settled down, Sasuke looked down his desk again, starting to feel bored once again.

"_Tap… Tap… Tap…"_

--

**The first chapter is very short… But the next few chapters will eventually be longer ;**

**Reviews are appreciated.**


	2. Chp 2: Cafeteria

**Bribe**

_Thank you __flynnfriend __and __Crystalized Rain__ for the reviews! Sorry for the late update; exams were in the way. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._

Chapter 2: Cafeteria

"I. Don't. BELIEVE it!" The pink haired Haruno groaned as she banged her head on the table in front of her, spilling her friend Ino's orange juice. A few students who walked by their table stared at Sakura but most of them could not be bothered. Weird things often happen in the cafeteria.

"Not only I have to complete that overdue History project, Kakashi-sensei just have to give me three essays on all the chapters we'd studied," Lifting her head up, Sakura grabbed a few of her pink locks and gave her best friend a frustrated look. "Can my life get any worse?"

Ino took a bite of her sandwich, swallowed it before looking at her distressed friend, "Relax, Kakashi doesn't struck me as the type to chase after assignments."

"You'll be surprised," Sakura mumbled as she recalled the time when Kakashi, who taught both Math and History, chased Sakura for her Math assignment which she had no idea how to do and failed her for the next class test when she lied to him that she had lost her assignment.

Sighing, Sakura glanced at the table a few meters away and found the back of Uchiha Sasuke's head facing her.

"It's his fault…," She muttered darkly, giving the back of his head the hardest glare she could muster which could have burnt a hole right through.

"It's whose fault what?" A voice asked.

Sakura tore away from the Uchiha's head to see two more of her friends had arrived. Tenten, who had her hair up in two buns was pulling a red-faced Hinata who looked as though she was about to faint.

"It's whose fault, what?" Tenten repeated, sitting next to Ino while Hinata sat next to Sakura. Sakura, who was too miserable and angry to explain to them, gave the blonde Yamanaka a look as though saying, "You explain."

Ino sighed before recounting the story to Tenten and Hinata.

---

"Wow, you got into trouble just because you asked him to stop his annoying tapping?" Tenten raised an eyebrow while shaking her head, "That must've sucked."

Sakura just "hmph"ed and sulked. She could still see a part of the Uchiha's head as Tenten was blocking the rest of her view. _"Chicken-haired jerk,"_ she thought, though she could bring herself to hate him for as long as she lives. Since they were young, Sakura had always been in the same school with Sasuke though he had never looked at her twice and has had a crush on him since. She did not tell anyone about it, not even Ino, afraid that gossips and rumours may spread throughout the school and cause Sasuke to hate her.

"Anyways," Ino said, bringing Sakura back to the present, "Why were you so red in the face, Hinata?"

Sakura looked at the white-eyed Hyuuga who had started to push her fingers together nervously while opening and closing her mouth wordlessly. Tenten gave her a sly grin which made Hinata panic inwardly.

"Do you know anything about it, Tenten?" Sakura turned to the brown-haired senior who started giggling. "Weeeeeeeeell…."

"Well?" Ino pressed on impatiently as Sakura leaned forward, listening intently. Hinata had turned red once more and started to perspire.

"I saw Uzumaki Naruto asking her whether he could borrow her History notes to study for the short quiz after break and when he grinned as he thanked her, our dear Hinata got all red-faced and dizzy," Tenten whispered, causing Ino to laugh aloud and Sakura to giggle softly. Sakura looked at the blond boy who was seating at the same table as Sasuke with Shikamaru, Neji, Kiba, Chouji, Shino and Lee before looking at Hinata with a grin, causing the dark-haired girl to sweatdrop.

Naruto then spotted Hinata with the three other girls and waved at her, yelling "Hey Hinata! Thanks for the notes!" at the top of his voice which caused Hinata to turn three shades of red darker than before and her friends to giggle even more.

"Dobe," Sasuke muttered just loud enough for everyone at the table to hear. Naruto glared at him before he continued to read Hinata's History notes. _"She has a really neat handwriting,"_ The blond thought, able to understand and identify the main points with ease.

Kiba looked over Naruto's shoulder. "Wow, you're actually studying for a quiz, huh? That's rare," The dog-loving boy commented, earning a punch on the head from Naruto himself.

"Shut up, I just felt like studying this time," He muttered, not noticing everyone was staring at him in disbelief. Him, the loudest guy in the school, studying?! Sasuke and Neji smirked, Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, Kiba and Lee stifled their laughs, Chouji munched on his potato chips and Shino would have gone "…" if he had a speech bubble.

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch break while everyone started making their way to their respective classes.

"See you during Physics then," Ino and Sakura said to Hinata as Naruto and Kiba told Sasuke, Shikamaru and Shino before everyone parted ways.

---

**A/N: End of Chapter 2! Reviews are appreciated.**

**Just for clarity purposes, Sakura, Ino, Hinata, Sasuke, Naruto, Kiba and Shino are split into two classes where they have a few combined lessons.**

**Sakura, Ino, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Shino – Class 2-4**

**Naruto, Hinata, Kiba, Chouji – Class 2-5**

**Combined lessons: Physics, Art, Music, Physical Ed.**

**Neji, Tenten and Lee are in Class 3-2**


	3. Chp 3: Paper ball and Physics

**Bribe**

_Thank you __to those who had read and reviewed ) _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._

Chapter 3: Paper ball and Physics

Math. Oh, how Sakura loathed the subject. As Kakashi sat behind the teacher's table, reading that perverted orange book he always brought with him, Sakura stared at the sums the class were supposed to do.

"_When did Kakashi-sensei teach us this?" _Sakura stared hard at the sums swimming about in her paper, one hand tapping her pen and the other used to rest her chin. _"I don't remember him teaching us this topic yet… Have I been sleeping in class?"_

The Haruno took a glance at Kakashi, who was engrossed in his book, before she leaned to her right, where Ino was. Just as she wanted to take a peek, she felt something hit the back of her head and bounced off, landing on her table. Sakura glared at the crumpled ball of paper before grabbing it, emerald eyes searching for the responsible person. Everyone in class seemed to be doing their sums, except for one. Uchiha Sasuke, resting his chin on one arm, was looking bored having completed solving the sums. Sakura glared at him, wondering if he was the one who threw the paper ball at her, but he simply ignored her, eyes closed.

"_Forget it, Sasuke's too cool to do such a childish thing," _Sakura thought and sighed, facing the front before placing the ball on her desk. That was when she noticed a scribble on the paper. Opening the ball, she smoothed the crumpled paper and read the words written in a familiar handwriting –

"Stop copying, Haruno."

The pink-haired girl stared at the three words, recognizing the neat handwriting of the raven-haired boy behind her. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Sakura crushed the paper and turned, aiming for the Uchiha's head before-

"Haruno, see me after class," The silver-haired teacher at the front said.

Oh, great.

---

Hinata was done with her test. Fidgeting nervously in her seat, the shy Hyuuga glanced towards the other end of the classroom where a certain blond boy was scribbling furiously with a small grin on his face. Hinata blushed slightly, knowing that her notes were a great help for him.

Moments later, the bell rang, signaling the end of the period. Everyone started to get up. Hinata gathered her things, handed her test paper to the teacher and left the classroom.

"Hinata!" The said girl's heart skipped a beat at the sound of his cheerful voice and stopped in her tracks. Naruto appeared in front of her with a huge grin on his face. Hinata's face turned red when they made eye contact.

"Thanks a lot, Hinata," Naruto said as he returned her notes to her. The dark-haired girl took it with trembling hands and opened her mouth, stuttering to say something but closed it once more. Kiba suddenly appeared beside the two teens with a raised eyebrow and smile on his face.

"C'mon, let's get to the next class," The brown-haired boy said to Naruto, dragging Chouji, who was eating his potato chips again, by the collar towards the combined classroom where their next class was Physics with Class 2-4.

"Alright, let's go Hinata." Naruto grabbed her wrist, unaware that her face was so red that she could hardly breathe, and headed towards the same direction as Kiba and Chouji. It was amazing that Hinata had not fainted when his took her wrist, yet.

---

Ino sighed. She was standing outside the Physics lab waiting with Shikamaru and Sasuke, waiting for the other class and their Sensei to arrive.

"OI!" Ino looked up to the loud mouth Uzumaki running towards them, dragging an unconscious Hinata by the wrist.

"NARUTO! What did you do to Hinata?!" Ino screamed at him, punching him in the head before releasing Hinata from Naruto's iron-grip. She gave the dark-haired girl a slight slap on the cheek, causing her to open her eyes slowly. Naruto, on the other hand, was cursing under his breath, tending to his injured head while Sasuke watched him.

"Dobe," He said, making the blond boy glare daggers at the Uchiha, who ignored him.

"I-Ino… Where's S-Sakura?" Hinata whispered softly, white eyes searching for the pink-haired girl. Before Ino could reply, the door of her previous class at the opposite end of the corridor burst open as a very pissed off Sakura stomped towards the Physics lab.

Sakura was livid. She could not believe that Kakashi had assigned five revision papers for her and they had to be submitted the next day. _"First History, now this!"_ Sakura thought as she glared at those who were watching her. She kicked Naruto who was sitting on the floor in the middle of nowhere out of the way before reaching her two friends. Neither of them said anything, knowing that one wrong word could send the pink haired Haruno erupting like a volcano.

"Sakura-chan…" A very beat-up Naruto crawled slowly towards her, "You didn't have to kick me that hard…"

Sakura grinned evilly at Naruto. Ino slapped her forehead. Hinata turned pale. Sasuke tilted his head as he wondered what ill-fate Sakura would bring to his best friend. During the next few minutes, screams were heard throughout the whole school.

---

Asuma-sensei arrived in front of the Physics lab three minutes after the period bell rang to find a disfigured blond on the floor. He sighed, wondering what had happened before unlocking the door to the lab. Within seconds, the whole lab was occupied by the two classes.

Uchiha Sasuke sat at the back of the lab with the rest of the boys. He sighed, wishing that he could drop this boring subject. He glanced at Naruto, who was bruised all over, before glancing at the culprit responsible for it.

Haruno Sakura was seated at the first row with her two friends. Ino and Hinata were watching her anxiously as she muttered a string of vulgarities which were directed at Kakashi. She was gripping on her pen, which she imagined to be Kakashi, so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

Asuma cleared his throat, catching the classes' attention. Sakura loosened her grip on her poor pen as she looked at the teacher behind his desk. He was scratching the back of his head, sighing as he looked at their latest class test marks. A few were written in red ink.

"Alright class, there's quite a number of failures so I'm going to rearrange you seating arrangement where everyone will work in pairs, the smarter ones teaching the weaker ones," Asuma explained, earning many complaints and groans from the students.

Asuma then drew the new sitting arrangement on the board. Within minutes, everyone was moving to their respective seats represented by their register number as indicated in the seating plan. Sakura was now seated at the back. She looked at the register number of her new partner: thirty-eight. _"Who's thirty-eight?"_

Sakura got her answer when the chair beside her was pulled back and seating beside her now was none other than Sasuke.

"_NO WAY!" _Her mind screamed as she stared at the raven-haired boy beside her. The person she has a crush on and the one who was the cause of her bad day was sitting beside her. Part of her wanted to scream in joy while the other part wanted to strangle the damn Uchiha.

Sasuke knew that the Haruno was staring at him but he ignored her, staring ahead and saw that Naruto was seated beside the Hyuuga girl. His eyes shifted to the other side of the room to find Shikamaru with Yamanaka Ino. He smirked, knowing that the Nara would find her very troublesome to deal with. He could still feel the pink haired girl watching him. Sighing, Sasuke turned to face her, "What?"

Sakura blinked and blushed slightly as she looked away. _"Great, now I'm acting like his fan girls,"_ Sakura thought as she rolled her eyes, knowing that every girl in the lab right now would want to be in her shoes and sit with the oh-so-popular Uchiha.

"Haruno," Sasuke called her, causing her to jump slightly at the sound of her name. Sakura turned to face him. He had a bored expression on his face, again. "What is it?" She asked him.

Sasuke frowned slightly as he stared at her pink hair. This was the first time he was this close to her and wondered of her hair color was natural. He said nothing and shrugged. Sasuke narrowed her eyes at him.

"If you want to say something, say it. If you don't want to, then don't call for people unnecessarily," Sakura snapped at him, clearly irritated. She then grabbed her pen and started copying down notes. _"Jerk,"_ she thought, fuming.

"Haruno."

"Sakura."

Sasuke looked at her, puzzled.

"I preferred to be called Sakura," the pink-haired girl said, eyes not leaving her notebook. Sasuke smirked.

"Hn. Then, _Sakura_," He said, which made Sakura's head jerk towards him, "I don't need your help. I can cope on my own so don't bother me now or any other time."

Sakura just stared at him and shrugged, "Whatever. You're quite proud, for a person who scored only twenty-one percent for Physics last year."

Sasuke froze before glaring at the girl beside him. Stupid girl with her stupid green eyes and stupid pink hair. He remained silent and leaned into his chair, tuning out from the lesson.

Sakura stopped writing when Sasuke did not respond. She sneaked a peek at the Uchiha to find him tuned out from the lesson. _"Tch…"_

"I'll make a deal with you," Sasuke suddenly spoke, though he looked straight ahead instead of looking at Sakura. Sakura raised an eyebrow. Sasuke had a smirk plastered on his face.

"I'll help you with your History and Math if you help me score well in Physics by the end of the year, starting today," He said, finally turning to the pink haired girl, "Well?"

Sakura thought for a moment before giving the raven haired boy a small smile.

"Fine."

**A/N: Reviews are appreciated )**


	4. Chp 4: Library

**Bribe**

_Thank you __to those who had read and reviewed. Sorry for the slow update; writer's block_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._

Chapter 4: Library

The last bell of the day had finally rung half and hour ago. Haruno Sakura stood outside the school library, waiting for a certain raven-haired Uchiha to arrive. They had agreed to meet outside the library to start on the deal they made. Sakura sighed, twisting a lock of her pink hair to kill time. She had been standing at the entrance of the library for more than fifteen minutes, waiting for Sasuke while students stared at her as they walked past. Thanks to a few of Sasuke's fangirls who overheard of their meeting place, rumours stating that Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura were dating spread throughout the whole school faster than wildfire. For the rest of the day, Sakura had to put up with the death glares from them digging into her back.

"Oi."

Sakura was snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of Sasuke's voice. Right in front of her, the spiky dark haired boy was staring at her with a bored expression. Sakura blinked for a while before giving him a small smile which he did not return. She was also aware of those around Sasuke and her who stared at those two, wanting to confirm whether the rumour is true. The pink haired girl could also feel the dark aura of Sasuke's fangirls in the crowd.

"S-So, Uchiha, shall we get going?" Sakura asked shakily, already feeling pressurized by the stares and glares. Sasuke merely shrugged and walked past her, into the library. Sakura followed him. _"Let's get this over and done with."_

_---_

"Home at last!" Sakura exclaimed as she flopped on her bed four hours later. Her head was pounding and her arm was aching. She stared at the ceiling, thinking about that afternoon in the library.

_Flashback:_

_Sakura swallowed slightly, taking note of the glares of Sasuke's fangirls digging into her back from behind the bookshelves. She knew that any girl would kill to be in her shoes right then. The pink haired girl then glanced at the Uchiha sitting opposite her who seemed to not notice the glares. He took out the necessary books and waited for Sakura to get started._

"_Hurry up and don't waste my time. I got better things to do than sitting around here," Sasuke said, not hiding the annoyance and impatience in his voice._

_Ouch._

_End Flashback_

Sakura sighed. _"At least he showed some interest in learning," _She thought as she ran her hand through her pink hair. She had managed to complete the History essays and Math sums Kakashi had given her which resulted in her writing arm aching.

Grabbing on her pillow, she could not help but recall the expression on the Uchiha's face earlier. He was attentive to her words, the usual bored look was not seen anywhere then. Sakura also could not help but stare into his onyx eyes when they spoke. Her heart would skip a beat and she felt her face flushing. In addition, she could feel the glares intensify when her hand accidentally brushed Sasuke's when she wanted to grab her pen.

"_I wonder what Sasuke is doing now,"_ Sakura thought and sat up as she heard her mother calling her down for dinner. _"I bet he's either studying or having dinner now…"_

_---_

**Very sorry for the super short chapter and super long update… I was having trouble completing this chapter… I'm currently doing another fanfic as well, a NejiTen fanfic. I'll put it up once I'm done with the first chapter.**


	5. Chp 5: The Basketball

**Bribe**

_Thank you __to those who had read and reviewed._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._

Chapter 5: The Basketball

Sakura had just left her home and was walking slowly to school. She was a good half hour earlier than usual so she took her time walking and at daydreaming. Ever since last night, her mind was filled with images of Uchiha Sasuke. With his raven spiky hair and dark eyes, Sakura could not help but blush at the thought of him.

Unfortunately, as Sakura was too occupied in her daydreams, she failed to notice where she was heading and walked into a solid body around the corner. Snapping out of her thoughts, the pink haired girl stared at the chest in front of her. It was wearing the male uniform of her school's. _"Must be a schoolmate,"_ She thought and looked up, only to find a frown and glare that of an Uchiha's.

"S-Sasuke!" Sakura jumped back in shock upon seeing her crush. Sasuke ignored her reaction and continued walking towards the direction of the school. Sakura merely stared at him, mouth hanging open before realizing something, _"We can walk together to school!"_

Sakura caught up with Sasuke and walked next to him. He ignored her and looked straight ahead. _"I should make conversation,"_ Sakura thought, unable to stand the awkward silence between them.

"M-morning Sasuke!" The Haruno greeted cheerfully though inwardly she was nervous. _"Great, now I'm starting to sound like Hinata…" _Sasuke showed no indication of hearing her greetings and continued walking, causing the pink haired girl's cheerfulness to waver and fall into depression.

"_So much for making small talk…"_

---

Upon arriving the school gates, Sakura was immediately welcomed with glares and killing auras from Sasuke's fangirls. Swallowing hard, she kept up to Sasuke, not backing down. Whispers could be heard among the students who saw Sakura and Sasuke walking into the school together.

"Are they dating?"

"No way, Uchiha is dating that Haruno?"

"Why's that pink haired idiot walking with Sasuke-kun?"

"Damn that Haruno! Walking next to our Sasuke-kun..."

Sakura tried to ignore the comments and looked straight ahead. She could feel everyone's eyes on the pair when they walked along the corridor. She saw a group of girls, possibly Sasuke's fangirls, from the corner of her eyes glaring daggers at her. If looks could kill, Sakura would be dead on the floor right then.

Just then, a loud shrill from the school bell startled everyone, signaling the start of the first lessons. It was Physical Ed for Sakura. Turning to face Sasuke, she noticed that he was already gone, probably heading to the hall. Sighing, the pink haired Haruno dragged her feet to the same destination.

---

"Sakura!" Ino yelled to her when she saw Sakura walking into the hall. Sakura gave her blond friend a small smile and made her way towards Ino. She also spotted Hinata seated, tying the laces of her shoes. Waiting for the teacher, she looked around the hall and noticed a senior class with them. It was when she saw Tenten, she knew which class it was. Before she could call out for Tenten, something green burst into the hall.

"Good morning, my youthful students!" Gai yelled at the top of his voice, catching the attention of everyone in the hall. No one bothered to greet Gai back except for Rock Lee of Class 3-2.

"Good morning, Gai-sensei!" He yelled enthusiastically, flashing him a huge grin. Gai then jumped to the front and flashed his students a grin with his teeth going 'ping!'

"Alright, I'll be relieving Class 3-2 as well so I want all the girls to split themselves to two teams and play at the court at the back," The bowl haired teacher said, handing Tenten a basketball, "Same to the boys, you'll be playing at middle court."

---

A quarter of the period had passed and Sakura was already perspiring. Playing with the seniors was challenging but she was glad to have Tenten in her team. The opposing team was currently in possession of the ball. Sakura was trying her best to guard a senior who was a head taller than her, concentrating hard on the game.

"OI, SASUKE!!!" Sakura suddenly turned to look over the other court, eyes searching for Sasuke, unaware of the game taking place in the girls' court. Upon spotting his running figure, Sakura could only stare in awe.

"Sakura, watch out!" Tenten suddenly yelled, snapping Sakura out of her thoughts. Turning, she saw the basketball headed straight to her face.

"_SHIT!"_

Too late.

The ball made contact with her face, hard. The impact caused Sakura to lose her balance and fall backwards. The pain was causing her eyes to tear. She could hear pairs of feet running towards her and the faces of Ino, Hinata and Tenten appeared in front of her, looking at her anxiously. Sakura could only afford a weak smile before pulling herself up to a sitting position. Almost immediately she was overcome with dizziness. She closed her eyes for a moment before hearing someone giggling. Opening an eye, she looked at the girls who were trying heard not to laugh. Sakura turned to her three friends, puzzled. Ino could only look away while Tenten had a hand over her mouth. Hinata sweat dropped and pointed to her nose.

"Y-You're b-bleeding," The pale girl merely stated. Suddenly everyone burst into laughter. Sakura was then aware of something oozing out of her nostrils. Touching it, she found out that it was blood. Sakura was having a nosebleed.

She never had felt so embarrassed in her life. Her green eyes darted to the girl who was shrieking like a banshee. Obviously she was the one who threw that ball to Sakura's face. The pink haired girl looked down, fighting back tears that were threatening to fall. She was not aware that the laughter soon died down until a figure stood before her, blocking the lights. The figure then knelt in front of her. Sakura did not want to look up and kept her head down. She did not want to be embarrassed further.

"Sakura," The figure suddenly spoke, causing the said girl to jerk her head up and find Uchiha Sasuke staring at her. She was too stunned to do anything and just stare into his dark eyes.

Sasuke then offered his hand to Sakura, who accepted it without saying a word and pulled herself up.

"Tell Gai that I'm taking her to the sick bay," Sasuke informed Tenten who was trying hard not to smile. The bun haired senior nodded at him before giving Sakura a small smile.

"EH??????!" The Uchiha's fangirls protested, "Why should you take her to the sick bay?! Can't she go on her own?" Sasuke said nothing, glared at the culprit who threw the ball and walked out of the hall with Sakura hurrying to catch up.

---

**A/N: Reviews are appreciated.**

**To NejiTen fans as well: **

**The NejiTen fanfic, My Teammate, is already up. Please check it out.**


	6. Chp 6: Windows

**Bribe**

_Thank you __to those who have read, reviewed and faved this story! I am so sorry for not updating for more than three years… Here is chapter six! It was written straightaway after I wrote chapter five but I stopped halfway and didn't finish it till now so I apologise if there's any inconsistencies in the story. Anyway, enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._

Chapter 6: Windows

The moment the Uchiha and Sakura was out of sight, the whole hall burst out mutterings and gossips regarding the Uchiha's sudden concern for the pink haired teen.

"What was all that about?" Naruto's loud voice could be heard, asked no one in particular. Ino, who had heard the blonde, shrugged and stared at the doors, wondering the same thing.

-o-o-o-

Uchiha Sasuke was confused. He was confused at the fact that he was accompanying a classmate to the sick bay during gym. On top of that, said classmate was a pink-haired _girl_. He could feel her gaze on his back but he ignored it and continued walking in big paces, causing the girl to stumble in order to catch up with him. He was irritated with himself, and he blamed it on her.

Sakura was having a hard time catching up to Sasuke. With each large step he took, Sakura was forced to take three steps just to catch up to him. However, just as she had caught up with him, he took longer strides, forcing Sakura to walk faster to catch up to Sasuke again. As she was too caught up in looking at her feet, she didn't notice the raven haired boy had stopped walking, thus walking into his back.

"Ouch!" Rubbing her throbbing nose, Sakura blinked through her tears to stare at the Uchiha, wondering what had made him stopped walking all of a sudden. She then noticed that they were at the junction in the hallways where the sickbay was a left turn away.

"Sasu..ke?" Sakura's eyebrows knitted in confusion when Sasuke suddenly did a hundred-and-eighty-degree turn and was walking back to the direction of the sports hall. "HEY! WAIT!" The Uchiha teen stopped walking, his back facing the pink haired girl.

"The sick bay is to the left by the way. I think you could manage to get there on your own. Don't annoy others," He said and without another word, walked away from the junction with his back facing Sakura that he was unable to see the slight hurt flickered on her expression. As Sakura watched Sasuke walking towards the opposite direction, she could not help but feel a twinge of disappointment.

"_Who am I kidding? Sasuke-kun would never bother about a useless person like me…" _She thought and felt more depressed than she has been a moment ago. Blinking hard to fight back tears, Sakura headed towards the sick bay, opened the door and walked in.

The school nurse, Shizune, was around. Her face showed a hint of surprise when she saw then pink haired teen walking into the sick bay.

"Sakura-chan!" The raven-haired nurse exclaimed as she stood up. "What's wrong?" Shizune was Sakura's neighbour and has always liked Sakura to the extent that she thought of the pink-haired girl as her own sister. She remembered the first time she met her and immediately was drawn to Sakura's bubbly personality. Shizune was the one who babysat Sakura when her parents went on business trips when Sakura was younger.

Fixing a forced smile on her face, Sakura replied, "Nothing much, Shizune-neechan. I just injured myself during basketball just now." She then pointed to her bloodstained nostrils and let out a humourless laugh.

The nurse merely sighed before checking the pink haired girl's injury. "It's okay now, you just have to clean up and be on your way back to class."

"Um… Shizune? Is it okay if I stay here for a while?" The teen whispered as her eyes fixed on the floor. She did not want to face the Uchiha now, for she was afraid that she would break down, showing him how weak she was.

Shizune stared at Sakura hard, knowing that she was hiding something but did not ask what happened. "Okay, fine. But you'll have to leave by break time."

"Thanks," Sakura gave the older woman a small smile. The teen liked that one thing about Shizune. Shizune never tried to pry.

-o-o-o-

The commotion in the hall has not even settled when the Uchiha returned just moments after he left with Sakura for the sick bay. Naruto stared at him, surprised. He noticed that as the raven-haired teen walked towards the group, there was no one else that came onto the hall with him.

"Oi, teme, where's Sakura-chan?" The blond asked as soon as Sasuke was withing hearing range. Sasuke did not reply yet he did not make eye contact with Naruto.

"Oi, did you hear me-"

"I told her to go to the sick bay herself. I'm not her _nanny_," Sasuke replied indifferently. Ino, who was nearby, heard the Uchiha.

"_Sakura… I wonder how she is now…" _The blond Yamanaka thought worriedly.

-o-o-o-

Somewhere not far off from the group, Ami's brown eyes narrowed. _"Tsk… it seemed that my plan to ridicule that Haruno failed…" _She thought, biting on one of her fingernails that chipped during her throwing the ball into Sakura's face earlier. As president of the Uchiha Sasuke Fanclub, it was supposedly her job to make sure that no girls are allowed to get close to the Uchiha without her consent. Since Haruno Sakura has been cosy with the Uchiha, or so it seemed, Ami thought that she ought to warn Sakura to stay away from Sasuke or else… She was surprised when her object of affection came into the scene and accompanied her to the sick bay. Ami shook with silent rage and envy.

"_It's not over yet, Haruno."_

-o-o-o-

It was only during break that Sakura decided to leave the sick bay and head towards the cafeteria. The story of what happened during Physical Ed must have spread throughout the school because the moment she reached the packed cafeteria, almost everyone stopped for a moment to stare at her. Sakura did her best and avoided eye contact with crowd and once spotted her friends, she quickly made her way to their table.

"Sakura!" Ino exclaimed seeing the pink-haired girl taking up the final empty seat at the table. Sakura gave her best friend a forced smile before looking around the cafeteria. Wrong move. Dozens of pairs of eyes were still trained on her and the poor girl looked down to her lap, ears feeling hot while trying to fight back the hot prickling tears from flowing down her cheeks. She didn't know why she even felt like crying. Perhaps it was the embarrassment from the incident in the morning, or perhaps it was due to the indescribable feeling that was aimed at a certain _someone_. Sadness, confusion and anger. There was definitely anger.

Haruno Sakura was angry with Uchiha Sasuke.

She did not know how she had gotten angry with the pale boy. One moment she was allowing herself to be depressed in the sick bay, tears falling freely and the next moment, the sobbing stopped, her fist clenched tightly and she gritted her teeth.

"_No more",_ she had told herself, _"I'm not going to cry over Sasuke anymore…"_

It took most of her remaining energy to haul herself out of the sick bay during lunch time, much to Shizune's surprise. The school nurse said nothing as she watched the pink-haired muttered a word of thanks to her before leaving for the cafeteria, though she noted the teen looked slightly under the weather.

"Hey guys! Over here!" Ino's cheerful voice snapped Sakura out of her thoughts as she turned to look at where the blonde was waving. Her heart sank and her face turned pale when she saw the raven-haired Uchiha amongst the boys walking to their table. Sakura quickly look away in order to avoid eye contact with the Uchiha and stood up.

"Sakura? What's wrong?" Tenten asked, looking at the pink-haired girl with a raised eyebrow. Feeling as though the attention was focused back on her, Sakura feigned a cough.

"Sorry, I don't feel too good. I'm going home," She said to her friends, green eyes looking everywhere but _his_ direction. Well, it was kind of true. Sakura felt sluggish and warmer than usual.

Ino didn't say anything but pouted, Hinata eyed the pinkette with concern while Tenten merely nodded her head with understanding. "It's okay, Sakura. Take care of yourself," the brunette said.

Sakura nodded and flashed her friends an apologetic smile before leaving the cafeteria as fast as possible while not arousing suspicion.

"Hey! Where did Sakura-chan go?" Naruto half-yelled at Ino, who looked irritated with the blond boy.

Hinata, sensing that her blonde friend was about to lose her temper, quickly intervened. "S-Sakura's not feeling w-well, so she went h-home," The dark-haired girl said softly, but loud enough for the boys to hear. Naruto, upon hearing this, slumped into Sakura's now vacant seat and whined. Loudly.

Sasuke was getting annoyed by Naruto's continuous whining for Sakura and he was not the only one. However, since no one wanted to take the initiative to shut him up, the Uchiha felt like it was his responsibility to shut the blond up. Without hesitating, he raised a hand and smacked the back of Naruto's head hard, resulting in the boy's poor head to smack against the table with a loud and painful thud.

"TEME! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?"

"Hn," Sasuke smirked and looked away from the blond before his onyx eyes landed on Yamanka Ino, who was staring at him blankly for a moment before her expression turned to one of anger. Anger directed towards the Uchiha.

"You," She suddenly hissed, eyes narrowed at the dark-haired boy. Sasuke merely remained silent and raised an eyebrow at her, wondering what had caused the sudden mood swing of the blonde.

"You," Ino repeated, her eyes still fixed on the Uchiha while pointing an accusing finger at him. He said nothing, wondering what the blonde was trying to say. Apparently, this interaction did not go unnoticed by the rest of the group, who had stopped with their own conversations to stare at the pair.

"Ino, what's wrong?" Tenten asked, glancing briefly at Sasuke before turning back her attention to the girl. The others just stared at Sasuke, hoping that he would provide the answer. The Uchiha, getting irritated with the blonde's unreasonable behavior, gave a long sigh, his trademark smirk no longer present.

"What, Yamanaka?" He asked impatiently, before giving a loud "tsk". Apparently, this was not a good idea.

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" Yamanaka Ino screamed at the Uchiha, anger getting the better of her. Her scream had caused the entire cafeteria to stare at their table and had alarmed those in their group.

Sasuke flinched inwardly at Ino's screeching voice, confused at her reaction.

"I don't know what you're talking abo-"

"IT'S YOUR FAULT THAT SAKURA'S ACTING THIS WAY!"

Ah, that.

Uchiha Sasuke sighed, closed his eyes and counted to five, before opening them again to stare at the blonde. "It's not my fault that she's behaving so childishly," He said before turning to walk away. He was angry. Angry at the fact that they put the blame on him for the pink-haired girl's behavior. The group had not said anything to him, but he knew that they were on Ino's side. And right now all he wanted to do was to get away from them.

Turning on his heel, he started making his way out of the cafeteria before Ino's voice stopped him.

"I HOPE SHE WON'T FORGIVE YOU! AND IT'LL BE YOUR FAULT IF SHE DOESN'T COME TO SCHOOL TOMORROW!"

Sasuke snorted. As if Sakura would skip school because of him.

-o-o-o-

Sakura was absent the next day.

Sasuke said nothing when he strolled into Physics class first thing in the morning to find the seat beside him empty, thinking that maybe his pink-haired partner was late. However it became clear to him and the others that she was not coming when then bell had rung and Asuma came into the classroom for attendance taking.

"So Haruno is absent," Asuma muttered to himself when he spotted the unoccupied seat beside the Uchiha. "Uchiha, would you mind handing Haruno her notes after school today?" the teacher asked, not looking up from the attendance list to address Sasuke.

Of course Sasuke minded. A lot. But he figured it would be a good opportunity to find out what had happened to the pink-haired girl. Before he could answer, however, Yamanaka Ino had raised her hand.

"Sensei, I'll pass Sakura her notes today," Ino said, before giving Sasuke a glare which clearly says _"Your fault"._

Asuma looked at the blonde before shrugging. "Okay then." He did not want to butt into their problem.

-o-o-o-

The atmosphere during lunch was tense. That was the only word that Hinata could think of to describe what she was feeling at that moment. The boys were seated at another table from the girls, but she could clearly feel the hostile attitude Ino was giving Sasuke. No one wanted to say anything, in fear of causing the blonde to lose her temper. Even Naruto was quiet, something which everyone thought to be unachievable.

Sasuke ate his lunch in silence, ignoring the glares from the blonde girl. It was not his fault that her best friend was being immature and not coming to school, he thought to himself. He blamed it all on Haruno Sakura. "_And when she comes back tomorrow..,_" he thought, irritated.

-o-o-o-

She was absent again.

Uchiha Sasuke was getting really annoyed with the pink-haired girl. Her absence has made his interactions with the group to be awkward, especially with Yamanaka Ino who kept glaring at him. Dumping his bag onto Sakura's table, he sat down and waited for Asuma to arrive. He didn't have to wait long. The moment the bell rang the Physics teacher walked into the classroom, took one look at the still empty seat beside the Uchiha before passing Ino Sakura's Physics notes for the day. Sasuke ignored the girl when he saw that she was turning to face him, eyes trained on the teacher in front.

Throughout the lesson, Sasuke could not concentrate. His mind kept wandering to his pink-haired partner, wondering if it really were his fault that Sakura was not coming to school. His eyes left the window he was staring out of to turn to look at the corner of the classroom where Ino was. As expected she was staring at him but he realized she was no longer glaring at him.

She was _smirking_ at him.

Confused, the raven-haired boy looked away, still deep in thoughts. Maybe… maybe it was not his fault that Haruno was not coming to school. His eyes narrowed in irritation.

The bell rang, indicating the end of the lesson.

Quickly, Sasuke grabbed his bag and walked towards the blonde girl, blocking her from the exit. Yamanaka Ino stared at him with an eyebrow raised. Shikamaru, who was beside her when the Uchiha came up to her, shook his head and muttered _"troublesome"_ under his breath before leaving the room.

Ino waited for Sasuke to say something but after waiting for a few minutes in silence, she grew angry. She tried to step to the side and proceed to leave the room but the Uchiha continued to block her way.

"Yamanaka, give me her notes," He suddenly said, surprising Ino who looked up to his face. As usual, his expression was unreadable. Ino snorted and crossed her arms, staring up at him.

"No."

"Don't be an idiot. Give it to me."

"No."

"Ino."

"What?"

"Her notes."

Ino let a frown grace her features. "What are you going to do with her notes? Burn them?" She asked before rolling her eyes and tried to step around the Uchiha again. Again, he blocked her way.

"I'll visit her after school."

That stopped Ino from attempting another escape. She looked at Sasuke's face again. His dark eyes just stared blankly at her. She raised her eyebrow as high as she could.

"Really?"

"Aa."

Her other eyebrow joined her raised one as she looked at him with surprise.

"Huh."

"Ino."

"What?"

"Notes."

Ino sighed and started digging out Sakura's notes. She pushed them to the Uchiha's chest before walking past him to leave the classroom. This time he didn't stop her.

Ino smiled to herself as she left the room, her back facing Sasuke who followed her to the cafeteria. She had told Sakura that she would be visiting the pink-haired girl again today and decided not to inform her of the change of plans.

This could get interesting.

-o-o-o-

**A/N: Finally finished this chapter after years! Reviews are appreciated and loved!**


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